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After being hit by the trade war and US sanctions on Iran. some Chinese buyers of liquefied petroleum gas from the Persian Gulf nation are finding it is too tough a habit to kick.
China sourced around a fifth of its LPG — used as cooking fuel. in cigarette lighters and to make plastic — from the US before Beijing slapped a 25% tariff on the gas last August as the trade tussle heated up. Bloomberg reported.
Buyers then turned to Iran. which accounted for around a third of imports in April. before US President Donald Trump blocked all energy exports from the country in May.
But some Chinese customers are still buying from Iran. according to Kpler SAS. Based on ship-tracking data. the Paris-based data intelligence firm estimates that at least five supertankers loaded Iranian LPG in May and June that was destined for China. That would equate to around $100 million of gas.
“They have started using a variety of techniques to hide their activity.“ Ilya Niklyaev. an LPG analyst at Kpler. said. “Like switching off transponders as well as intentionally signaling wrong destinations and indicating loading ports in Qatar. Saudi Arabia or the UAE.“
The predicament of the Chinese buyers underscores how the White House’s aggressive trade and foreign policy is disrupting global commodity flows. To avoid running afoul of the US sanctions. LPG importers in Asia’s largest economy would have to turn to more expensive supplies from elsewhere in the Middle East or Africa
